


star-crossed endeavor

by Anonymous



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I know the summary implies a lot of pain but I promise it's not that bad, It's actually very sweet most of the time, M/M, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 02:28:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19368193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: The end of the world is not that frightening if you're not alone.





	star-crossed endeavor

**Author's Note:**

> uh, hi there! i wasn't supposed to write anything wooil so soon but i woke up in the middle of the night, couldn't sleep and couldn't write something for my current wips so... this fic was born. it's not that great because, well, i wrote it in the middle of the night and didn't think much about it but i really do like this idea and i'm growing to like wooil more and more. thank you jungwoo for giving taeil so much love and thank you taeil for accepting it. 
> 
> as i said on the tags, this is not as sad as the summary implies, i promise. i don't think angst suits wooil that much. it's funny because this ended up with almost the same amount of words as the other wooil fic i published hhhh i think i like this one more though. but i didn't proof read this not even once, so i might ended up hating it when i do. anyways! 
> 
> i wrote this listening to american football's LP 3 on loop and i'm sorry for any mistakes you might find.
> 
> i hope you guys like it, please let me know what you think! 
> 
> i'm still @bloominggays on twitter, feel free to talk to follow me or talk to me. :)

> My head is an empty bed  
>  Just the thought of being seen is more than I can take  
>  I never met a mirror that I couldn't break
> 
> I'll miss you in the next life

      American Football - Mine to miss

 

The sun rose just like it did every day before this one. Taeil woke up early just like he did every day before this one. Breakfast was a bowl of instant noodles accompanied by a can of Coca-cola, the last one he had in his fridge and somehow he felt grateful the world was ending today -- he was running out of patience to search for food or any other items anymore.

Taeil turned the radio on and put his favorite CD to play, singing happily all over the house. The man didn’t mind wasting all the fuel left inside the power generator because, well, the world was going to end anyways and there was something truly liberating about it. Maybe because he had almost all life to worry about dying and the afterlife, the pain that he might face in the end and all those things but, if you really look at it, is there any pain a man who had watched 98% of the world vanish right in front of his eyes can’t endure? At least he wouldn’t be alone. 

And that was the best and worst thing about it all. Taeil and Jungwoo met when Taeil was breaking into the same small convenience store as Jungwoo. They argued over a box  of cigarettes but Jungwoo started hitting on him in the middle of their discussion while he tried to convince Taeil that they should split the packs evenly between them. None of them smoked but cigarettes could be traded for other goods such as food, fuel or hygiene items and, god forbid, Taeil was running out of toothpaste. When their hands brushed, Jungwoo simply took Taeil’s hand in his and refused to let go unless Taeil agreed with him but, even after they split the packs of cigarettes and left the convenience store, Jungwoo never let go of Taeil’s hand.  

Jungwoo was a mystery and probably the only thing making Taeil upset about the end of the world. They had been together for almost a year but the blue haired man had so many layers that everyday with him felt like a brand new day. When the world is bound to end by the hands of an alien race and there isn’t much left out there, one is probably willing to cling onto whoever come across him but Taeil had been lucky enough to find himself a Jungwoo and Jungwoo wasn’t just anyone. Jungwoo was four years younger, ten thousand light years smarter and the most beautiful person to ever walk on earth (even when the Earth still had 7 billion inhabitants). He managed to get his hair dyed even in the middle of the apocalypse. He also turned a small movie theatre into his home after the disappearance and he knew things about all the movies he had there and Taeil used to sleep watching movies but not when sleeping meant he would miss out on Jungwoo talking passionately about something he loved. 

Sometimes, and he had never admitted that out loud or in bright daylight, Taeil was thankful for the disappearance because otherwise he probably wouldn’t have met Jungwoo. But most of the time he thought he would end up finding Jungwoo anyway, anyhow, as if their meeting was written in the stars. 

 

Taeil looked outside and there was nothing there, as usual. After time you get used to it: abandoned cars, most of them destroyed or deteriorated, houses, buildings and stores but absolutely no noise, no life. Maybe that’s why he wasn’t afraid of the world ending, there wasn’t really a world to worry about anymore and grief was only a long time friend now, visiting once in a while but never staying for too long.

The album Taeil was listening to ended but he pressed play again, waiting for Jungwoo to get there so they could start their own party at the end of the world. 

He looked around his apartment that had been his for some time now, ever since the first six months after the disaster. The furniture was still nice with its black and white minimalist look, everything there still worked perfectly fine if it wasn’t for the lack of electrical power and it didn’t feel weird to call that place home after all the time Taeil spent there. The only thing he brought from his old home, the home he left in order to move on from everything and everyone that vanished from existence, was his CDs collection. Through time, his collection got bigger, specially after he stopped feeling ashamed for breaking into places and taking things with him. That was probably when he understood that things had changed forever. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the fact that music was his biggest reason to move on with his life. 

And Jungwoo, who was finally walking down the street with a smile on his face that only someone who’s absolutely unafraid of anything can carry. Taeil smiled back immediately, even though he knew his boyfriend couldn’t see him because he was looking from his window two floors above the sidewalk. Three minutes later he heard a knock on his door and warmth spread all over his body. 

 

“Well, hi there,” a soft voice spoke to Taeil when he opened the door. Jungwoo looked exactly like he did every day with his white t-shirt, his denim pants and his favorite combat boots and something shining in his eyes that Taeil could never understand exactly what it was but today it was shining brighter and prettier than usual. Stunning, like every other day. 

“Why do you still knock?” Taeil asked. “It’s not like it’s locked.”

“Because I like how your face lights up when you open the door to find me,” the other answered cheekily, disarming Taeil for a moment. “Why do you still answer the door?”

Taeil chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Because I like opening the door to find you.”

“Aren’t you ashamed of being so sappy?” Jungwoo asked, finally closing the small distance between them and hugging Taeil tightly then giving him a quick peck on the lips. 

The blue haired man entered the apartment, looking at the living room around him carefully, eyeing every detail like a child would do and Taeil noticed it but couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Something about how the day ahead of them would be all about last times. 

“You’re listening to that sad stuff again,” Jungwoo pointed. “Are you feeling moody about the end of the world?”

“Oddly, not much,” Taeil replied honestly. “What have you prepared for us today?”

Jungwoo smiled proudly. “Nothing. We’ll find out along the way.”

“Are you taking me somewhere, though?”

“Yes.”

 

Leaving the apartment wasn’t as hard as Taeil thought it would be. He gave one long last look at everything, his bedroom, the spare room where he kept all his CDs and books, the small and cozy kitchen and the living room left without looking back. It wasn’t like he would have enough time to forget about the little details he liked so much, anyways. 

Hand in hand, he and his boyfriend left the three store building and Jungwoo took the lead. Both of them had sunglasses on and Jungwoo joked about how they looked like characters from some 80s dystopian movie. They walked for twenty minutes after getting to the river banks, where they sat on a bench. 

The refreshing wind contrasted against the warmth the sun above them brought. Taeil closed his eyes and lift his head up to the sky, drinking in the world around him while Jungwoo still held his hand tightly. 

“Doesn’t it feel weird sometimes?” Taeil suddenly looked at his boyfriend. “To see all these buildings, roads, bridges, all of it, but barely no one  living there anymore?”

“I don’t know, I think I got used to it. The silence still bothers me sometimes, though.”

“The silence is my favorite part. That is, of course, when I forget about why it’s so silent now.”

“I suppose it’s better to listen to loud music when there aren’t any neighbors around to complain,” Jungwoo joked and Taeil laughed more bitterly than he intended. 

“Yeah, I think so. Most of the time I don’t miss these mundane things, not until I remember why they don’t exist anymore and then it’s all weird but it also doesn’t last long because I always feel this strong urge to move forward.”

“Technically,” Jungwoo kissed the back of Taeil’s left hand delicately, speaking against its skin. “We are moving forward.”

The couple stayed there, sitting in silence for almost an hour. It couldn’t be said that they were watching the world around them because there was nothing to be seen -- no movement, no noise, nothing. Just the two of them, the concrete cemetery that once was a city and the river running its natural course just like they were. Forward.

 

Walking wasn’t Taeil’s favorite activity but the nice weather and the nice company made it more bearable. He tried asking Jungwoo where were they going but the other refused to tell, told Taeil he should try exercising his creativity and kept dragging him by the hand. They were already approaching the Namsan Mountain but that couldn’t possibly be their destination, Jungwoo would never make him walk that much, let alone climb a mount. 

However, that was exactly what Jungwoo did. 

“You cannot expect me to go up there,” Taeil frowned.

“But that is exactly what I want you to do,” the other shrugged his shoulders. 

“Do you want to end me before the world ends?” 

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Jungwoo chuckled, pulling Taeil closer by his waist. “I thought we should go sightseeing. And the sky is prettier there at night.”

“I can see the sky from down here,” Taeil complained but it was harder to resist when Jungwoo was so close, blue hair almost covering his eyes and a playful expression staring back at the smaller man in front of him. Sometimes seemed unreal to Taeil how his boyfriend seemed to be amused by everything he did, no way he was _ that  _ funny. 

Jungwoo’s face changed into a more serious facade but his eyes were still soft as he cupped Taeil’s face gingerly. “But up there we’ll be closer to the stars.”

Such cheesiness wasn’t supposed to get to Taeil, but it always did when it came from Jungwoo. He tiptoed the few centimeters left between them and they kissed without any rush, lips moving against each other eagerly but slowly, like a conversation between old friends after some time apart. There was still so much left to talk about. 

Taeil felt a pair of hands leaving his face and following their usual path to the back of his neck and it still scared him how he knew exactly what the younger would do but he felt like the first time every time he was touched, even at the most careless, innocent gestures. His skin burned under Jungwoo’s digits but never enough to hurt, just to cauterize all the wounds he still had in his heart. 

A weird noise coming from Taeil’s stomach made them laugh between the kiss and ruined the romantic mood. They had been walking for hours and his breakfast was now nothing but history. 

“If you’re hungry, I have food up there,” Jungwoo told Taeil, raising an eyebrow.

“Are you blackmailing me? You said you haven’t planned anything.”

“Yes, I am and no, I haven’t. I just know there’s still food left up there, I’ve done some research.”

“Fine,” Taeil finally complied, getting an overly excited Jungwoo placing small pecks all over his face as a reward. 

Taeil complained all the way to Jungwoo’s favorite spot in the mountain. There was an old convenience store nearby but the power generator had no fuel and there was no power to turn the fridges or the microwave on so they had to settle for Snickers bars and water at room temperature. Still Taeil grabbed all the snacks and water bottles he could carry and took them with him.  

“Woah there,” Jungwoo laughed. “It’s only the end of the world, you don’t even need that much food.”

“And what about it? I’m hungry.” 

Outside the store, nature had taken over and if it wasn’t for a few cars and tables there, it would have been like not a single human had ever step foot there. The silence was gone and Taeil was trying to get used to all the sounds around him; birds chirping, small monkeys moving between trees and laughing at each other, leaves rustling and life in way he wasn’t used to see anymore. They sat by a table and ate without saying a word, quietly enjoying the new atmosphere and the songs the wild life sang to them.  

 

Lying inside a convertible car Jungwoo had just broken in and retracted its roof, Taeil thought that the world could end right there and he wouldn’t mind. He laughed to himself when he realized that it was exactly what was going to happen. But being able to hear and see life after so long and having his favorite person with him was already more than he thought he would ever have after the disappearance, so it was a good way to go after all. 

If it wasn’t for that stupid alien bomb planted inside the very core of the planet, humans would have kept thriving, he thought. And for the first time that day, Taeil felt sad. Not for him or even for Jungwoo, but for everything that could have been. And for the beautiful nature that would just cease to exist. Surprising Jungwoo, who was lying right beside him, Taeil cried. It was probably so stupid to even think about it but even crying over the end of the world was better when he got to do it in his boyfriend’s arms. Gratefulness helps soothe the pain. 

The sun went down slowly, as if bidding the Earth farewell and painted the sky with amazing shades of orange and red before finally disappearing in the horizon. At night, the new moon couldn’t be seen but there was a blanket of stars making up for its absence.    
If fear wasn’t a word long gone from Taeil’s dictionary, he would have been scared of staying the whole night in the middle of a forest. The trees moved differently against the wind at night and the little birds chirping had gone silent, owls had taken their place and made the soundtrack sound darker, scarier. Taeil wondered if they somehow knew about the end.

 

“You’ve been too quiet,” Jungwoo complained, squeezing Taeil’s hand in his.

“I’m just paying attention.”

“To what?”

Taeil breathed in heavily, trying to absorb the atmosphere around him. “Everything.”

“You said you weren’t sad but look at you now,” the younger simply stated, not really accusing his boyfriend of anything.

“I’m not really sad, I’m just feeling weird.”

“You cried.”

“That’s called grief. It’s different from sadness. Sometimes they meet halfway but not always.”

Jungwoo hummed in agreement before making another question. “Are you afraid?”

“Of what?”

“The end.”

Taeil smiled and kissed Jungwoo’s right cheek. “Not when I’m with you.”

“That’s too cheesy.”

“It’s not a lie, though.”

“I know.”

“Good.”

Another moment of silence. 

“Are we just going to wait?” It was Taeil’s turn to make questions.

“I don’t know, I think so. Is there anything you’d like to do?”

“No,” the elder replied, running his fingers through Jungwoo’s hair. “We’ve done everything we could possibly want to do, there’s not much left now.”

“You’re right. I’m glad.”

Jungwoo was smiling with his eyes closed under the starlight, peace evident in his expression and his body language and Taeil couldn't understand how could someone be so brave or so careless or even both at the same time. There was, indeed, something liberating about the apocalypse but Jungwoo had always been free. 

“Me too.”

Taeil fell asleep after that and Jungwoo soon followed him. There is no way to prove it, but they dreamed the same dream together. About a new life under a new sun, no constant weight on their shoulders. They dreamed about meeting by accident and falling in love just like they had done in real life but this time there was no end of the world. This time they got to grow old together.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> yes, the world did end, i'm sorry. hope you guys enjoyed it, tho! <3


End file.
